click to enlarge I don't know how your knees are doing, but now that I'm in my 60s, mine have mostly been mocking me and threatening to fold up like cheap card tables if I ask too much of them. Yet, I still like to get my walks in, and I also like those walks to offer some spectacular views. If you're looking for a short and not too taxing hike that will reward you with sweeping views of the coast from Los Osos, the back bay, the estuary, Morro Bay harbor, Morro Rock, and right up to Cayucos, Black Hill in Morro Bay State Park is the hike for you.

https://www.newtimesslo.com/special-issues/morro-bays-black-hill-is-accessible-to-almost-anyone-14050888

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click to enlarge In his 11 years on the San Luis Obispo County Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team, Armando Gutierrez has seen the spectrum of disasters on local trails, like San Luis Obispo's Bishop Peak. There are lost hikers who veer off-trail; runners who break an ankle and can't hike down; rock climbers who fall catastrophic distances; summit trekkers who lose their balance while taking photos on boulders—and the list goes on. "I've been on many different calls over the years," Gutierrez said.

https://www.newtimesslo.com/special-issues/san-luis-obispo-emergency-responders-urge-caution-on-city-trails-but-are-trained-and-equipped-to-rescue-if-crisis-strikes-14050871

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After a two-year hiatus, Morro Bay's annual festival spotlighting avocados and margaritas is getting a makeover from date night-planning guru Hannah Lique Naitove. The proprietor of San Luis Obispo-based Project XO turned heads at the Morro Bay Chamber of Commerce recently when she partnered with fellow chamber members Toast the Coast and Central Coast Lifts to set up luxury experiences for clients aboard their respective vessels. Impressed by Project XO's private yacht charters and picnics aboard electric boats, chamber President and CEO Erica Crawford enlisted Lique Naitove's services for future projects, culminating with the chamber-sponsored 2022 Avocado Margarita Food & Drink Festival.

https://www.newtimesslo.com/sanluisobispo/ace-event-planner-ramps-up-morro-bays-annual-avocado-margarita-festival-to-three-day-extravaganza/Content?oid=12840741

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In his feature-length debut, writer-director John Patton Ford helms this thriller about Emily (Aubrey Plaza), a young woman swimming in debt who's drawn into crime. (93 min.) Glen Emily works as an independent contractor for a catering company, loading up tin trays of food and driving them to offices, where she sets up lunch for impatient and entitled office workers. It's menial, dead-end work, and the pay doesn't even cover the interest on her $70,000 in student loans. She's trying hard to find a better job, but she's got a felony on her record that follows her around like a dark cloud.

https://www.newtimesslo.com/sanluisobispo/emily-the-criminal-is-a-taut-unromanticized-crime-thriller/Content?oid=12840895

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Collective Soul has a classic "the little engine that could" origin story. They formed in 1992 and released their debut album, Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid, on the small indie label Rising Storm Records in 1993. Then the single "Shine" suddenly started heating up on the radio. Atlantic Records came calling, re-released the band's debut, and they were on their way. click to enlarge Photo Courtesy Of David Abbott VIBRATING Georgia-based post-grunge heroes Collective Soul play Vina Robles Amphitheatre on Aug.

https://www.newtimesslo.com/sanluisobispo/collective-soul-plays-vina-robles-on-aug-20-touring-in-support-of-their-new-album-vibrating/Content?oid=12840943

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click to enlarge As a starting place, can we all agree that pizza is the perfect food? Depending on your ingredients, it's an ideal balance of carbs, fat, and protein. It's easy to make and easy to share, and it's universally enjoyed. One survey found 98 percent of Americans eat pizza, and 54 percent say they "love" it. Millions even claim they'd want pizza for their last meal. You know what else Americans love? Entertaining and backyard barbecuing. Now imagine that instead of burgers off the grill, your next gathering would serve Naples-style woodfired pizza straight from an oven in your backyard.

https://www.newtimesslo.com/special-issues/build-your-own-backyard-pizza-oven-and-make-naples-style-pies-14050856

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